Testimonials for Improvised Rock Rescue
Testimonial for Xiaoping's improvised rock rescue ability:
“In July, 2011, I was in the Bugaboos, British Columbia, climbing Lion’s and Tigers (5.8, 6 Pitches) with my friend Xiaoping. As often happens in Alpine climbing we had gotten off route, though we didn’t realize it at the time.
As a result, we misread the pitch before us (which turned out to be the last pitch) and followed the crack as per the guidebook, as opposed to an easier corner route. This crack proved quite a challenge, more in the 9+ / 10a range than the 5.8 we thought we were on; and was made harder still by the heavy packs we were carrying.
As Xiaoping was leading the entire route, he had first go at the crack, and got up it masterfully. I was very impressed with his strength and courage.
Xiaoping then put me on belay and it was my turn for the crack crux. I found the crack to be a challenge, especially as I was not wearing climbing shoes and therefore opted for the more straightforward corner about 3 meters to my right.
This decision created some complexities for my belayer. Xiaoping had spent time setting up a very strong anchor directly above the crack line, and it required a lot of engineering on his part to restructure the belay, allow me to downclimb, and then enable me to ascend via the corner.
This proved an excellent opportunity for Xiaoping to execute some of the many techniques he’d learned as a guide, and I felt very comfortable as he took charge of the situation and orchestrated all the complex rope and anchor work that needed to be done.
After climbing the corner route, I was happily on the summit. But we weren’t done yet. We had to retrieve gear that Xiaoping had placed above the crack route he had led. Belayed by Xiaoping on a munter with a prussic backup, I grabbed the gear and climbed back up. And then we celebrated our climb and enjoyed the views from the top!”
---- David, Toronto, Ontario